I have version 3.00 running on this Sony PCG-431L. I remember it was a pain to install due to the PCMCIA DC drive. There were various boot parameters that I do not remember and now cannot find on the forum. So, a couple questions:

1. Does anyone remember the boot parameters that will make this run the ISO properly? I've tried various things dealing with PCMCIA and apci, but I'm getting what appears to be hard drive read issues (inode errors, etc.). So, what do I use to boot a Puppy ISO on this machine?

2. Failing that, since version 3.00 is working, is there a way I can download the latest version directly to the machine and install from there? Or... should I just stick with 3.00?

Assuming you use Grub bootloader to boot computer.
Can you find the Grub menu.lst file.
Open it in a text editor and post it's contents.
The info you want may be in this menu.lst file.

Quote:

is there a way I can download the latest version directly to the machine and install from there?

You could download the Puppy version ISO file, open it and do a manual frugal install.
Example:
Download the Puppy 5.2.5.iso file
In Rox-filer (file manager)
At the top layer of a partition.
Make a new directory like /Puppy525
Left click on Puppy 5.2.5.iso file to open it.
Copy these 3 files to /Puppy525 directory.
initrd.gz
lupu_525.sfs
vmlinuz
Run the boot loader configuration program for the boot loader you are using to make a boot option for the new Puppy 5.2.5
Reboot.
At boot menu select Puppy 5.2.5

Suggested versions to try:
Wary 5.3
Lucid Puppy 528.005
Any of the newer Puppy versions that have a retro version._________________I have found, in trying to help people, that the things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected

A lot depends on how much RAM you have. Puppy 3.x was the last Puppy series which would work as a frugal installation with only 128MB RAM.
The latest Puppies require a minimum of 256MB RAM for frugal installs. So if you have 256MB RAM, then sure, get the latest official Puppy release - Slacko 5.4 -
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-5.4/slacko-5.4-opera-4g.iso
Just make sure to avoid the "PAE" variants with a machine such as yours.

If you have less than 256MB RAM, and you like the lightning-fast response that you get with a frugal installation, then stick with Puppy 3 ...
actually, Classic Pup 2.14X would be better.

But even with limited RAM, the most recent Puppies should still install and run OK as full HD installations.
This won't be as quick as a frugal installation, but still reasonably fast.